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Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans Athletics

HAWAI'I HILO VULCANS ATHLETICS
Brinelle Kaleikini
5
Western Washington WWU 0-6
6
Winner Hawai'i Hilo UHH-SB 6-2
Western Washington WWU
0-6
5
Final
6
Hawai'i Hilo UHH-SB
6-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Western Washington WWU 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 5 11 3
Hawai'i Hilo UHH-SB 4 0 0 2 0 0 X 6 9 1

W: Fernandez, Cyanne (5-0) L: Labasan,Shearyna (0-3) S: Gonzales, Leah (1)

Game Recap: Softball |

Vulcans survive Viking comeback, 6-5

ST. GEORGE, Utah—Brinell Kaleikini's first inning grand slam home run gave Hawai`i Hilo an early lead and the Vulcans would later survive a Western Washington onslaught to hold on for a 6-5 win in the first game of the Dixie State Easton Classic at the Canyon's Softball Complex.

The victory over the defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament champions and NCAA regional participant, improved UH Hilo's record to 6-2 on the season. The Vikings, picked to finish second in the GNAC this year, are off to a tough start in 2018 at 0-6.

Kaleikini, the sophomore catcher who six homers last season, belted her first of 2018 and it was a big one. After singles by Mari Kawano and Bailey Gaspar, and a walk to Isabelle Mejia, Kaleikini belted a pitch over the left field fence to give the Vulcans a 4-0 lead.

Both teams had chances in the next few innings. UH Hilo loaded the bases in the third but couldn't plate anyone, and Western Washington did the same in the fourth before starting pitcher Cyanne Fernandez got the third out on a fly ball.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Vulcans took advantage of Viking charity. After a pair of errors put runners on second and third, Mejia drove them both in with a single to make it 6-0. It was the Mejia's 12th and 13th RBI of the season.

The Vikings finally scratched Fernandez for a run in the top of the fifth on a solo shot by Carlie Richards, but the senior hurler got the next three WWU batters out to end the threat.

But in the sixth, the threat became a full-on rampage. After back-to-back singles, with a run scoring via an error, Paityn Cyr hit a two-run blast to cut the lead to 6-4. An RBI double by Richards followed, chasing Fernandez from the game and making it a one-run contest.

Enter Leah Gonzales, who got the next two outs of the inning. In the seventh, she survived a one-out double by Shearyna Labasan, inducing a strikeout and a ground out to end the inning and the game.

The Vulcans had nine hits in the game, two each by Mejia and Kaleikini. Mejia drove in two runs and Kaleikini four. Fernandez improved to 5-0 on the season with help from Gonzales, who pitched 1.2 innings and gave up just one hit, fanning two. It was the first save of the year for Gonzales, a sophomore right-hander.

The Vulcans now play No. 8 nationally ranked and unbeaten Colorado Mesa (12:30 MT). Live Stats will not be provided for this game, be scoring updates will be passed on via the Vulcan Twitter account—twitter.com/HiloVulcans.
 
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